1. AMERICA SETTLES THE WEST-
CHAPTER 5: CHANGES ON THE WESTERN FRONTIER
AMERICA SETTLES THE WEST-
LATE 19TH CENTURY

2. A COVERED WAGON HEADS WEST
THE SETTLEMENT OF THE FRONTIER
Since the arrival of the first colonists, the American frontier shifted westward.
Much of the last frontier consisted of the Great Plains, home to millions of buffalo and Native Americans, who lived off their food and hides.
The lure of precious metals and the availability of cheap land sent settlers west.
A COVERED WAGON HEADS WEST

3. A COVERED WAGON HEADS WEST
THE LURE OF PRECIOUS METALS
Even before the Civil War, settlers had been drawn to the California gold rush from
In 1896, a gold nugget was found near Canada's Klondike River near Alaska. Within months 100,000 gold seekers set out for the Yukon – only 30,000 competed the trip.
This is known as the Klondike Gold Rush.
A COVERED WAGON HEADS WEST

4. THE AVAILABILITY OF CHEAP LAND
President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act in
This act stated that any citizen could occupy 160 acres of government land. After 5 years, if the land had been “improved”, it was the citizens property.
Almost 1,400,000 homesteads were granted under this act.

5. EXODUSTERS MOVE WEST
African Americans who moved from the post- Reconstruction South to Kansas were called Exodusters
Many exodusters took advantage of land deals

6. OKLAHOMA SOONERS
In 1889, a major governmental land giveaway in what is now Oklahoma attracted thousands
In less than a day, 2 million acres were claimed by settlers
Some took possession before the government had officially declared it open – thus Oklahoma became known as the “Sooner State”

7. The Growth of Railroads
Pre-Civilwar America’s Railroads were confined to the eastern states. Travel to the West was slow and difficult. The government pushed for a transcontinental railroad that would connect the Eastern States with the riches of California and the West. But what route would it take?

8. The Transcontinental Railroad
Railroads had a significant impact on the: economic, cultural, and social development of the western U.S.
Opinions differed as to which route to take. North or South? The Northern Route won. from Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California.

9. Building the Transcontinental Railroad
Irish laborers, Free African Americans, and Civil War Vets started working westward from Omaha, NE. Chinese & other workers started eastward from Sacramento, CA. They met at Promontory Point, Utah.

10. The Golden Spike!!!!

11. Transcontinental Railroad

12. The Impact of the Railroads
The Transcontinental Railroad connected the United States like never before. Decrease in Travel Time from the East to the West Coast. Before the Railroad = MONTHS. After = 6 DAYS Trains moved West with people and manufactured goods. They returned to the East with beef, wheat, lumber, and gold from the West.

13. THE IMPACT OF RAILROADS
Railroad tracks often ran through Native American territories, leading to conflicts.
From 1870 to 1890, the massive herds of Buffalo on the Great Plains were systematically destroyed by sharpshooters traveling by train and trails.
This destruction threatened the Plains Tribe’s existence as their way of life revolved around the Buffalo

14. The Culling of the Herds
1800: 65 million buffalo roamed the plains
1890: less than 1000 remained

15. Destruction of the Buffalo

16. NATIVES AND SETTLERS CLASH
1834 – Government set aside all of the Great Plains as “Indian lands”
1850s- Government shifts policy, giving natives much smaller lands
Conflict ensues

17. THE INDIAN WARS
Troops were stationed in forts along the frontier after the Civil War.
Tribes were defeated and moved onto reservations.
Gold was found in the Black Hills of Dakota in 1875 and the Sioux were asked to leave.

18. THE INDIAN WARS
The next year, 1876, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse defeated Gen. George Custer and 264 soldiers at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
Within 2 years, however, Crazy Horse was killed and most of the Sioux were forced onto reservations.

19. HUNDREDS OF CORPSES WERE LEFT TO FREEZE ON THE GROUND
BATTLE OF WOUNDED KNEE
On December 29, 1890, the Seventh Cavalry (Custer’s old regiment) rounded up 350 Sioux and took them to Wounded Knee, S.D.
A shot was fired – within minutes the Seventh Cavalry slaughtered 300 unarmed Natives
This event brought the “Indian Wars”– and an entire era to a bitter end
HUNDREDS OF CORPSES WERE LEFT TO FREEZE ON THE GROUND

20. BLACK ELK SPEAKING ABOUT WOUNDED KNEE
“I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill of my old age, I can still see the butchered women and children lying heaped and scattered along the crooked gulch as plain as when I saw them with eyes still young. And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in the blizzard. A people’s dream died there. It was a beautiful dream... The nation’s hoop is broken and scattered. There is no center any longer, and the sacred tree is dead.”
BLACK ELK

21. THE FATE OF NATIVE AMERICANS FAMOUS DEPICTION OF NATIVE STRUGGLE
From 1830 to 1890, the US government systematically followed a policy of pushing Native Americans from their traditional lands onto government reservations in the West.
FAMOUS DEPICTION OF NATIVE STRUGGLE

22. FACTORS ERODING NATIVE AMERICAN CONTROL OF THE WEST
Trail of Tears
Settlers going west because of the Transcontinental Railroad and the Homestead Act.
Warfare – the US was technologically more superior
Destruction of the environment – settlers, miners, farmers, ranchers
FAMOUS DEPICTION OF NATIVE STRUGGLE

23. FAMOUS DEPICTION OF NATIVE STRUGGLE
THE RESERVATION
Reservation lands were smaller traditional homelands & often undesirable.
The federal government promised food, blankets, and seed BUT the Native Americans were traditionally hunters not farmers.
Corruption also Plagued the Governmental Supply Process.
FAMOUS DEPICTION OF NATIVE STRUGGLE

24. THE DARK AREAS DEPICT NATIVE LANDS BY 1894

25. FAMOUS DEPICTION OF NATIVE STRUGGLE
THE DAWES ACT
The Dawes Act of 1887 attempted to assimilate natives. They were to undergo Americanization – adopting the culture of other “mainstream” Americans.
The Act called for the break up of reservations and tribes.
Each family would be given 160 acres of reservation land. They were to become farmers.
Those who adopted this way of life were promised US citizenship and the right to vote.
Before the Dawes Act, Indians controlled 150 million acres. By 1932, 2/3rds of the land committed to Natives had been taken – becoming the state of Oklahoma.
FAMOUS DEPICTION OF NATIVE STRUGGLE

26. SHORTCOMINGS OF THE DAWES ACT FAMOUS DEPICTION OF NATIVE STRUGGLE
It destroyed Native American culture
Threatened Tribal Ways – individual ownership as opposed to tribal lands.
Natives were hunters not farmers
They were given infertile land with no equipment or farming education.
They suffered from malnutrition, poverty, and health problems.
The education was inferior.
FAMOUS DEPICTION OF NATIVE STRUGGLE

27. Attempts to Destroy Their Heritage

28. American Indian Citizenship Act of 1924
In 1924, the US Congress passed the American Indian Citizenship Act.
This law granted immediate US citizenship to all Native American Indians born in the US.
Ten years later, the Dawes Act was replaced by an act guaranteeing tribal self-government.
FAMOUS DEPICTION OF NATIVE STRUGGLE

29. Crazy Horse Monument
IN WORK
SCALE

30. Monument When Completed

31. THE CATTLE INDUSTRY
Ranching became increasingly profitable at the end of the Civil War.
Texas rangers learned how to handle the Texas Longhorns from Mexican Vaqueros.

32. VOCABULARY BORROWED
Vanilla, bronco, mustang, chaps, mosquito, pronto, tuna, stampede, tornado, chili, cigar, shack, savvy, siesta, wrangler, lasso, lariat, ranch, corral, burro, canyon, bandit, fiesta, guerrilla, hurricane, matador, plaza, rodeo, vigilante, desperado, cockroach, buckaroo
MEXICAN “VAQUEROS” (COW MAN) PROVIDED THE VOCABULARY FOR THE AMERICAN COWBOY

33. GROWING DEMAND FOR BEEF POSTCARD OF CHICAGO UNION STOCK YARDS
Urbanization and the rise of the railroad led to the increase of beef consumption
Chicago Union Stock Yards was a famous market after 1865
How did the cattle get from the range to the Stock yards?
POSTCARD OF CHICAGO UNION STOCK YARDS

34. COW TOWN & THE TRAIL
Abilene, Kansas became famous for being a place where the Chisholm Trail met the railroads
Tens of thousands of cattle came from Texas through Oklahoma to Abilene via the famous Chisholm trail
Once in Abilene the cattle would board rail cars for destinations across the country
Chisholm Trail
Chisholm Trail

35. TRAILS CONNECTED TO RAILROADS

36. THE END OF THE OPEN RANGE
Almost as soon as ranching became big business, the cattle frontier met its end
Overgrazing, bad weather, and the invention of barbed wire were responsible

37. FARMING ON THE GREAT PLAINS
The railroads allowed farmers to occupy the Great Plains.
Encouraged by the Homestead Act and Railroad land grants farmers moved further West.
They faced hostility both from Indians and Cattlemen.
JOHN DEERE’S STEEL PLOW HAD TO BE PULLED BY A HORSE OR MULE

38. FARMING ON THE GREAT PLAINS
Farmers also faced many natural obstacles on the Plains.
Droughts, Few Trees, Tough Soil, Plagues of Grasshoppers, Extreme Temperatures
Some Starved, Others Returned East
With technological innovations some survived and stuck out that hard existence.
JOHN DEERE’S STEEL PLOW HAD TO BE PULLED BY A HORSE OR MULE

39. INCREASED TECHNOLOGY HELPS FARMERS
1837 – John Deere invented a steel plow that could slice through heavy soil
1847 – Cyrus McCormick mass- produced a reaping machine
Other inventions included a grain drill to plant seed, barbed wire, windmills and drilling equipment for wells.
JOHN DEERE’S STEEL PLOW HAD TO BE PULLED BY A HORSE OR MULE

40. DUGOUTS & SODDIES DUGOUT SODDY
Most settlers built their homes from the land itself
Pioneers often dug their homes out of the sides of ravines or hills (Dugouts)
Those in the flat plains made freestanding homes made of turf (Soddies)
DUGOUT
SODDY

41. THE PROBLEMS OF FARMERS: 1870-1900
In the late 1800s, many farmers were struggling
Agricultural Overproduction: – as more was produced, prices fell
High Costs – farmers had to ship their crops to market by railroad at whatever the railroad wanted to charge – there was no competition
Indebtedness – farmers had to borrow money to buy machinery or to get by during a poor harvest.
Natural disasters.

42. ECONOMIC DISTRESS HITS FARMERS
Between 1867 and the price of a bushel of wheat fell from $2.00 to 68 cents
Farmers got caught in a cycle of debt

43. FARMERS ORGANIZE FOR CHANGE
1867 – Oliver Hudson Kelley started the Patrons of Husbandry, an organization for farmers that became known as the Grange
By 1870, the Grange spent most of their time fighting the railroads
Soon the Grange and other Farmer Alliances numbered over million members

44. THIS POLITICAL CARTOON SHOWS A POPULIST CLUBBING A RAILROAD CAR
POPULIST PARTY IS BORN
Leaders of the farmers organization realized they needed to build a base of political power
Populism – the movement of the people – was born in with the founding of the Populist, or People’s Party
THIS POLITICAL CARTOON SHOWS A POPULIST CLUBBING A RAILROAD CAR

45. The Populist Party:
In 1892, farmers gave their support to the Populist Party – a political party that represented the “common man” - farmers, industrial workers and miners. They were battling against bankers and railroads.

46. The Populist Party Platform
Bimetallism - Unlimited coinage of silver
Single term for the Presidency
Direct election of senators
Secret ballot
Government ownership of railroads, telegraphs and telephones
Graduated income tax
Immigration restrictions with quotas
Shorter work day of 8 hours.

47. Elections
1892 – Populists elected 5 senators, 3 governors and state legislators.

49. THE STOCK MARKET CRASHED IN 1893
THE PANIC OF 1893
Nationwide economic problems took center stage in America in 1893
Railroads went bankrupt, the stock market lost value, 15,000 businesses and 500 banks collapsed,
3 million people lost their jobs – putting unemployment at 20%
THE STOCK MARKET CRASHED IN 1893

50. SILVER OR GOLD?
The central issue of the Presidential campaign was which metal would be the basis of the nation’s monetary system
Bimetallism (those who favored using both) vs. those that favored the Gold Standards alone

51. BRYAN AND THE “CROSS OF GOLD” BRYAN’S CROSS OF GOLD SPEECH
Republicans favored the Gold standard and nominated William McKinley
Democrats favored Bimetallism and nominated William Jennings Bryan
Despite Bryan’s stirring words, “You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold,” McKinley won the election
BRYAN’S CROSS OF GOLD SPEECH

52. What is our money backed by today?
Silver? Or Gold?
Neither!
It is a Fiat Currency –
Fiat Currency is a currency that only derives its value from government regulation or law.

54. THE PEOPLE’S PARTY WAS SHORT-LIVED BUT LEFT AN IMPORTANT LEGACY
THE END OF POPULISM
With McKinley’s election victory, Populism collapsed, burying the hopes of the farmer
Populism left two important legacies: 1) A message that the downtrodden can organize and be heard and 2) An agenda of reforms, many of which would be adopted by other parties and eventually become law.
THE PEOPLE’S PARTY WAS SHORT-LIVED BUT LEFT AN IMPORTANT LEGACY